Posts tagged “arkansas hiking”

One of the pedestal rocks at King's Bluff. For scale, note the uprooted tree at the foot of the pedestal rock at center.

The King’s Bluff hike on the north eastern side of the Ozarks in Arkansas is evidence of how many hidden wonders there are in the state. I had never heard of this place or the little town of Ben Hur that it is its nearest spot on the map and it is a shame that such beauty is missed by so many.

The hike itself is relatively simple, only about 2-3 miles round trip (it is a loop). But it took me around 5 hours to get it done. No, I am not that slow of a hiker. The hike simply offered so many points of beauty that I was stuck stopping inch by inch to get pictures.

The trail head is in a little state park (see the trails page for directions). I took this one in the late spring months and actually missed the trail head once because it was so grown up with greenery. As you hike in it is a pretty easy hike, mostly downhill but not too much of a grade so it is not strenuous coming back. I didn’t know what to expect because once again I had never heard of this place. It is actually part of a double loop, King’s Bluff and Pedestal Rocks. I only did the King’s Bluff part due to spending so much time on the trail. I decided to save Pedestal Rocks for another day.

By far, the best hike I have been on yet! The Centerpoint Trail is really a combination of several trails so you can customize it to your own preferences and schedule. My final hike was around 11-12 miles round trip and major points of interest included the Goat Trail, Granny Henderson’s Cabin, and Hemmed in Hollow.(more…)

The Glory Hole is special little hike just east of Fallsville, AR. I had heard about this one for some time but thought I would hold off until after some rain to make sure I did not drive all that way just for a dry trickle. The recent flooding seemed to provide the right timing.

I made a return trip to the Lost Valley Trail with the whole family this weekend. It is even funner with the kids. There were lots of people on the trail so we had to deal with that but still enough privacy to find it enjoyable. Here is a scene of two of the kids trying to get up behind Eden Falls.

This is a great little hike near the Ponca, AR area. It is known as the Lost Valley Trail. There is a sign at the trail head/campground area that notes this area is not a valley and it is not lost. It is about one mile in and one mile out. When you get in and see the falls don’t make the mistake of considering that the end of the trail. Head up a little higher on the trail and see the cave that holds the spring from which the fall’s water originates. The only draw back of this hike is that it would be nice if it were in fact a little more lost as the name implies. The first few hundred yards or so are lined with posts to keep the trail from being washed out. I have not run into so many people as I did on this one and they were not quiet hikers either. (Hint, hint if you are on the trail.) None of these were major drawbacks but surprised me in light of the trail’s name. In any event, once you get to the falls it is well worth the trip. I hit it at a rather dry time. The falls were great but I judging by the dried up creek bed that lines most of the trail I bet this would be an especially nice one in the wet season.